In the manufacture of air laid nonwoven materials, natural fibers are used to form a web onto which a bonding agent or bonding fibers are applied which under the influence of heat bind the formed web into a porous material layer. Such layers are formed on top of each other including as many as the desired thickness of the product requires. Material layers produced as described are used in the manufacture of various table top, hygiene, hospital and wipe products. The problem with these types of products, however, is their often inadequate strength, resulting in breaking of the products or deleterious dusting of fibers.
In the manufacture of spunlaced nonwoven material, the fibrous structure is created by using fine water jets to entangle the fibers of a fibrous web with each other. These jets are directed at the fibrous layer supported by a liquid permeable wire moving in a specific speed. When the fibers pass under the jets, the liquid jets penetrating the layer impinge the fibers. The joint influence of this and of the jets reaching the wire causes the fibers to entangle with each other. This method can be used to produce nonwoven fabrics from fibers of different origin selected on the basis of their intended usage, as long as the fibers minimum length is adequate. However, the problem with this type of a process is often that short fibers are flushed out or that they pass through the wire, which causes fiber loss, cleaning problems and extra costs.